I'm watching 'Hazel'

Thank God.....that's all, I mean.

Whitney Blake in real life is the mother of Meredith Baxter, now a lesbian.

Whitney is lovely but can't act her way out of a paper bag.

I liked Whitney. And I love Shirley Booth, but this series was a bore. I can't believe it ran for as long as it did, and that it didn't drive Booth, who was quite an accomplished actress, nutty.

Hazel was Booth's retirement fund, R4. It's kind of sad watching the show now and knowing the little kid died at the age of 21 in a car accident on the same bridge where his mother was killed the year before.

The Hazel house was on the same studio lot as the Bewitched house. On the Partridge Family, you sometimes see the Bewitched house as well.

I swore I spotted the Shirley Booth Oscar used as a doorstop in the Baxter house. Sad.

The dad in the series was way too old for Whitney Blake. Whitney Blake wounds like an old money name.

[quote]Whitney Blake wounds like an old money name.

Are you asking us not to use her name any more?

The "dad" was Don DeFore BIG Reagan supporter.

The fact of the matter is that Shirley Booth absolutely loved the show and doing. I don't know why people would think it demeaning work for her. As far as sitcoms go it was brilliant. Ending it due to her health reasons really threw her for a loop. I love the show. Then again though I'm an old movie and TV fan. But thanks for this thread. I do believe season 2 may finally be out on DVD. Will have to check Amazon. I know it has been on preorder status for a while.

Shirley Booth was a lesbian. She had a house on the Cape somewhere that she shared with her longtime partner.

[quote] The fact of the matter is that Shirley Booth absolutely loved the show and doing.

Doing what?

Doing Bobby Buntrock, R13.

Hazel's every line sounded as though delivered while running on a bouncy treadmill: "Mmm-isss-tterr Bbeeee..."

Whitney Blake wouldn't acknowledge her children unless they addressed her by her given name. She didn't want to give the impression that she was old enough to be a mother.

.she wanted her house decorated in red. Everything red. Chinese red. And there ain't nothing Redder than the Chinese these days.

Shirley loved the PAYCHECK from Hazel more than anything else.

In her book, Meredith Baxter talked about her mother trying to break into Hollywood. She practiced and practiced, taking numerous drama classes evenings and weekends and even rehearsing during lunch in an empty conference room at her office job.

So when I finally saw Hazel (about a year after reading the book) I was shocked how wooden and bland Whitney Blake was on-screen. Beautiful, but a log.

And Shirley owned Hazel so it made her a fortune.

I thought Whitney Blake was Bonnie Franklin's mother.

I keep expecting her to call for Little Sheba.

I adore Shirely. Great actress. Whitney is one of the worst actors I've ever seen.

She seems like a real cunt

Shirley Booth gave the, arguably, best BEST ACTRESS performance of all time in Come Back, Little Sheba. Like her male counterpart Marlon Brando, audiences had never seen an actress be absolutely raw, real and human on screen before and she ripped their hearts out. It was seminal work and every actress in film after her owes her a debt of gratitude. And a previous poster was correct. She loved doing Hazel and, in fact, won two Emmys for her work.

Stop using Whitney Blake! It WOUNDS!!!

Ironically Bobby Buntrock lost control of his car in the confetti parade that killed him.

R24

I cry everytime I watch Come Back Little Sheba.

Totally breaks my heart.

Me too. I bought the dvd. I also bought About Mr Lesley.

The copy of Mr Lesley is awful tho

Whitney Blake was one of the creators of One Day at A Time, which of course starred DL fave Bonnie Franklin.

I loved this show when I was a kid. When I saw "Come Back Little Sheba" as an adult it just blew me away. Lancaster is good but Shirley just breaks your heart in two.

I agree it's one of the best performances on film.

Another round of love for Shirley Booth and for Hazel.

She (Hazel) was just so adorably sweet I enjoy it for that reason alone.

Not surprised to hear Don DeFore was a Republican. His character was the model if there ever was one.

I worked with Shirley for a week back in 1970 in summer stock. She came through in a new play with a silly title something like The Best of Friends.

Her character at first had a line to her hippie daughter: "Well, how was the love-in?"

Shirley changed the line to: "Was it a nice love-in?" and got a laugh every time!

I'll never forget that. She was quite lovely and grandmotherly to all of us apprentices.

It's shocking that this national treasure would be reduced to doing summer stock in her declining years. Thank god for a stronger actors union with risiduals for performers tv and movie work.

She unsuccessfully auditioned for title role on radio's "Our Miss Brooks." She was too concerned about the struggles of high school teachers to grasp the comedy aspect of the show. Eve Arden did the role on radio and TV. Shirley was blind for two years before her death at her home in North Chatham on the Cape.

Well....other national treasures we had that summer included Van Johnson, William Shatner, John Gavin, Joan Fontaine, George Gobel, Noel Harrison, Edward Mulhare and Inga Swenson. So Shirley was in good company.

It was pretty typical in those days for older stars to go off on the "straw hat circuit" and tour with a play or musical. And as the theaters were all in resort towns, they could spend most of their days going to the beach or walking the mountain trails.

From what I've heard from Meredith Baxter about her mother ( Whitney Blake), she was an absolutely egomanical ,nut case who was not really motherly to her kids in any way, because she was so concerned about herself, and her image. I do remember watching that show, and thinking she was very pretty - but true, she was not a real actress, like her daughter.

I was thinking about get Meredith's book. Hoping that she writes about her mother. Her mother sounds like a real piece of work

Whitney Blake was beautiful. Maybe Meredith is just making the whole thing up about her mother.

Whitney resembled Kim Novak.

I do wonder how she became involved in "creating" One Day at a Time. Had she "created" other TV shows before that?

Their kitchen looked like the same one in "Gidget."

I borrowed the Baxter book from the library and Blake doesn't come off too hot in it, although they reconciled by the end.

R38 is right: Whitney Blake was beautiful. Meredith Baxter must have been lying. Oh, but Meredith Baxter's beautiful too, so she can't have been lying. Oooh! A paradox!

W onder why Hazel worked for a different family with the same little boy in the last season

[quote]From what I've heard from Meredith Baxter about her mother ( Whitney Blake), she was an absolutely egomanical ,nut case who was not really motherly to her kids in any way,

Meredith is a professional victim. You can't judge anyone by her word alone.

The Older Baxters went to a different country to live and Hazel and the boy went to live w/Mr. Baxter's bro and his wife. I dont remember why the older "Baxters" left in real life

[quote]It's shocking that this national treasure would be reduced to doing summer stock in her declining years. Thank god for a stronger actors union with risiduals for performers tv and movie work.

Don't be silly. Shirley Booth made plenty of money off HAZEL. She wasn't reduced to acting for money. She did it for love and the desire to be active. Shorter runs in less demanding venues can be ideal for "retired" actors who want to keep their foot in. Back in its heyday, most of the great stage stars did summer stock even at the height of their careers.

And Shirley made it clear in many interviews that she absolutely loved the new, widespread fame that only a weekly TV series could have given her. She especially loved it that she was now famous with "those under 40".

George and Whitney went to live in Iran for a year for George's work. The actual plan was to bring them back after a year but unfortunately Shirley had to quit the show for health reasons.

I liked Don DeFore in "Auntie Mame." Maybe he was a consevative Republican actor, but he skewered the type in his turn as "Little Glorie's" father.

sorry R48, but that wasn't Don DeFore as Gloria's father in Auntie Mame.....that was Willard Waterman, great old character actor. He was in the original Bway show in 1956, the film version in 1958, then went on to play Mr. Babcock in the Bway musical Mame.

I loved the story line surrounding why "Mr B" had Hazel sleeping in a room off the kitchen. When he would tell his wife he was "going downstairs for a little snack"....he really meant Hazel's SNATCH

Let's face it, Hazel was a bossy and annoying buttinsky.

There was a brief moment of clarity in the final season when her new employer initially couldn't stand Hazel and her meddling ways. After all those years it was as if we were meeting the only sane person in a land of crazies, the only one who saw Hazel for what she really was. Of course he was made to see the "error" of his ways and forced to endure life as a willing hostage to his domineering housekeeper.

.

My mother would bring me to the HAZEL set periodically to keep an eye on me. Cheaper than a babysitter, I guess.

I must have been about 7 the first time Shirley Booth invited me to her trailer for some fresh-baked cookies and a game of Chinese checkers: making time for me in a way my own mother almost never did.

Humming and smiling, she ushered me into a tidy, cozy little trailer, full of fresh cut flowers, homemade quilts, and stuffed animals. Then she locked the door and raped me repeatedly.

To this day I cannot abide Chinese checkers.

Poor Mer. What's your stand on quilts?

R53 Merry-- did you ever ask Sada Thompson how she turned both you and Kristy into dykes?

The guy who played Hazel's boss in the final season (Ray Fulmer) seems to have had an odd career. Only eight credits on IMDB (including a couple of soaps.) That's unusual for someone who was a lead on a hit comedy. Looks like he's still alive.

And, from "Seinfeld":

GEORGE: You know, my mother used to walk around in our apartment just in her bra and panties. She didn't look anything like you, she was really disgusting, really bad body. If you could imagine an uglier and fatter version of Shirley Booth. Remember Shirley Booth from Hazel? You can imagine the insults...your mother's uglier than Hazel, Hazel really puts your mother to shame."

Doc smells Marie's powder puff in "Come Back Little Sheba", I love that scene.

I felt so bad for Lola, she tried so hard.

Most, if not all of those shows mentioned (Hazel, Gidget, Partridge, Bewitched) were Screen Gems/Columbia productions, so they were probably all using the Columbia back lot. Also Bachelor Father, Dennis the Menace, Donna Reed, The Farmer's Daughter, The Monkees, Father Knows Best.

Before Hazel, Don DeFore played Thorny on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, starring the dreamy Rick Nelson.

Love Hazel. Btw. The kid on the show died in car accident at 21:(

The Baxter's number was KLondike 5-8372. Did they ever mention the name of the town?

NBC cancelled the show because it dropped out of the top 30, not because of Shirley's health. Remember, there were only three networks. But Shirley got CBS to buy it but they network wanted a younger family so Don Defore and Whitney were fired. Sadly it only lasted one season on CBS.

[quote]The Hazel house was on the same studio lot as the Bewitched house. On the Partridge Family, you sometimes see the Bewitched house as well.

The Bewitched house was next door and after Hazel moved out Gidget moved in.

Also, the Bewitched house facade was a copy of a real house that had been used to film one of the Gidget movies, only with the plans reversed.

[quote]It's shocking that this national treasure would be reduced to doing summer stock in her declining years.

Don't forget the Spic 'N' Span commercials.

By the way, R42, thank you for the Emo Philips tribute.

r33, back in the day Summer Stock theatres were popular. Many celebs would star in a show (known as a "package"), and take it across the country. In each town other roles were played by apprentices working for their Equity cards.

Bobby/Harold died in a CAR accident. It was not suicide, as there was evidence he was trying to escape. His mother died at HOME of a heart attack. Rumors, Rumors. tsk tsk

"This has been a Screen Gems presentation!"

Antenna TV airs two back-to-back episodes every morning M-F. Never watched the show originally, but am enjoying the reruns. Shirley Booth was perfect as Hazel, winning two Emmy Awards for Best Actress. She was born in 1898, so she would have been 63 when the show first began, and lived to the ripe old age of 94. An Oscar, Tony, Emmy winner.

r68 If you watch the "Hazel" episode wherein she sings a heart-rending version of 'Bye-Bye Blackbird' you'll want to give her a Grammy(making her an EGOT in the process)

Soon to come ... "Hazel," the musical!

I used to have a recording of Booth doing Dorothy Parker short stories. Quite wonderful. She certainly would have deserved a Grammy for it in the Spoken Word category.

R24 [quote] Shirley Booth gave the, arguably, best BEST ACTRESS performance of all time in Come Back, Little Sheba. Like her male counterpart Marlon Brando, audiences had never seen an actress be absolutely raw, real and human on screen before and she ripped their hearts out.

Actually that prize goes to Anna Magnani.

Serious actors were following her films in NYC cinema art houses.

Her performances in "Rome, Open City", "The Miracle" and "Bellissima" (all made before Sheba) changed acting in film.

Brando, Booth...et al..... owe a lot to Magnani.

Gosh, after reading all these posts I just want to go help Harold with his homework, fix Missy's hair, and then go bowlin'!

Hazel's still around -- she's reviewing movies now.

Shirley in Sheba is one of the finest performances, ever. Absolutely stunning.

Shirley herself ended the series due to health reasons. CBS did not cancel it.

Don DeFore is hot in an old Christmas movie whose name I forget; it's about a group of people freeloading in an empty NYC mansion. An early scene has him in bed wearing underwear, and he looks very hot. And yes, we all are pervs for noticing such things on TV!

Ray Fulmer, in the final season, also was quite handsome.

Hazel is a world unto itself, a fun and safe world of happy, well off people in a pretty suburb, where the problems were light and genteel and everyone was nice or funny. Remember the charming elderly couple next door? It's a fun half hour escape. And much better than Modern Family/Blackish/and all the dumb sex comedies.

The last (CBS) season featured DL fave Ann Jillian as the new Mr. B's secretary.

[quote]Don DeFore is hot in an old Christmas movie whose name I forget;

It Happened on Fifth Avenue is the name of it.

[quote]Remember the charming elderly couple next door?

The woman was played by Norma Varden who also played the housekeeper in The Sound of Music and Lady Beekman in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Have to confess being one of those that only knew Shirley Booth from "Hazel". Then one night Come Back Little Sheba came on television, almost cried my eyes out. You just felt so sorry for that woman.

The scene when Lola Delaney telephones her mother and asks if she could come home for awhile to escape the abuse gets me every time. Just Ms. Booth and a telephone but she conveys worlds of hurt, rejection and wounds that won't heal.

Don de Fore gave a bitter interview where he revealed that he learned of his firing from HAZEL by reading it in the paper. When the show switched to CBS for its final season, the new network probably found him too old and shop-worn and probably too expensive when a younger, more dashing young man could be cast and paid less. Pity because Hazel really needed a fathead like de Fore's Mr. Baxter to play off. It was less funny seeing the handsome Ray Fulmer have to play her stooge.

De Fore's termination may have been collateral damage, as it was Whitney Blake who had clashed with Shirley Booth all along. Early color TV was limited to bright primary colors. Blake looked absolutely stunning in vivid reds and blues (green being reserved for background color that helped define skin tones which were hard to regulate in primitive color.) But on what she believed were Booth's orders, Blake was very often outfitted in drab beiges and tans that made her fade into the background. Blake was a complainer, and she really was stuck with long hours for a relatively thankless role. Booth probably leaped at the chance to replace her when the show switched networks.

Blake was the opposite of Booth, who was an ingeniously authentic performer, every gesture right and real. Blake is always "doing something" when she has a line, imitating an actress rather than acting. She created One Day at a Time by coming up with the concept and pitching it to the network in the early seventies. She wanted to play the lead but Norman Lear had other ideas.

The character Hazel Burke is a nosy, meddlesome, unlikeable shrew.

Sure, she does nice things for people but is always giving terrible advice and acts upset if people reject it. Rolls the eyes, sighs, shuffles to kitchen or bedroom to sulk.

According to Meredith (in her book) Whitney would use her coffee breaks and lunch hour at Lockheed to find an empty conference room so she could practice acting.

In the first year of the show, she had a little bit of business that she did a few times that I always really liked. The Baxters would invite her to watch TV with them (before she got at TV in her room) after dinner, and she'd squeeze between the two of them on the couch and say, "I like to be in the middle."

[quote]Pity because Hazel really needed a fathead like de Fore's Mr. Baxter to play off. It was less funny seeing the handsome Ray Fulmer have to play her stooge.

That last season was horrible. First of all, the new premise was depressing -- Mr. B and Missy unloads Hazel and Harold on his brother. Hazel has to leave the Sunshine Girls and Barney and the rest of her friends. And then, Hazel becomes a supporting character in her own show. I don't know if Shirley Booth was sick or just over it, but in some of those episodes, she only appeared in two or three scenes.

[quote]Blake was very often outfitted in drab beiges and tans that made her fade into the background.

Oh pah-leeze!!

[quote]Doc smells Marie's powder puff in "Come Back Little Sheba",

So suggestive...

Meredith Baxter looks exactly like her mother.

On Seinfeld, when George said kids used to tease him for having a mother who was "uglier than Hazel", this isn't the show he was talking about, was it?

Of course it is, R86. How many characters named Hazel do you think there were?

"Blake was very often outfitted in drab beiges and tans that made her fade into the background."

On nearly every rerun on Antenna TV, Dorothy is wearing bright red. The placement of the Ford automobiles in every episode is so obvious. I agree that Whitney Blake's character is far too pretty to have been married to Don DeFore.

[quote]On nearly every rerun on Antenna TV, Dorothy is wearing bright red. The placement of the Ford automobiles in every episode is so obvious.

Every season, they reshot a different opener to feature the family around the latest model from Ford.

R88, Blake really did complain about the drab clothes she was forced to wear. Sometimes they put her in bright colors. Nevertheless, Blake suspected that Booth contrived to keep her looking plain on screen as often as possible.

That would seem odd, since the Hazel character adored the Dorothy character, having known her since she was a little girl.

Blake reminded Shirley of everything she wasn't. Namely attractive. The shows first season in black and white was the best. Later seasons were silly with Hazel solving everyone's problems....including Lady Bird. Stupid.

r65, what killed Summer Stock?

[quote]Hazel is a world unto itself, a fun and safe world of happy, well off people in a pretty suburb, where the problems were light and genteel and everyone was nice or funny. Remember the charming elderly couple next door? It's a fun half hour escape. And much better than Modern Family/Blackish/and all the dumb sex comedies

As a middle class child of the 60s, these shows fucked us all up. Why couldn't our families be like this? Why did our parents fight and get divorced? Why didn't our mothers wear pearls and heels like vacuuming like June Cleaver? Why weren't the old folks next door friendly like Mrs. Wilson? Why didn't OUR father always know best? Why didn't WE have a maid?

Billy Gray, Bud from 'Father Knows Best', railed against the unrealistic depiction of the post-war sitcom families.

[quote] I think we were all well motivated, but what we did was run a hoax. 'Father Knows Best' purported to be a reasonable facsimile of life. And the bad thing is, the model is so deceitful.

And Robert Young was an old drunk.

Many future well name actors turn up in guest roles and the rotating supporting cast of characters add much to the show, particularly George's snobby sister Deirdre and his primary client Mr. Griffin.

Notice now that the Stephens' house in Bewitched is right next to the Hecks' house in "The Middle". Can't believe that old facade is still standing!!!!!

But...but...R80, I'm the gal who's everybody's pal!

I love the show but never saw the need for the Baxters to have a maid. They have one son and the wife doesn't work. What was Missy doing all day while the kid was in school? I know she was supposed to be an interior decorator but come on. They should have Mistah B! a widower like some other dads of that era.

Hazel was a faithful retainer to Missy's parents. They probably thrust Hazel upon George Baxter as punishment for his robbing the cradle when he married their daughter and scotched her career as an interior decorator.

Having the Baxters sleeping in single beds looks ridiculous today, same for Rob and Laura Petrie. The first sitcom I can recall having a married couple sleeping in the same bed was "All in the Family".

R94 [quote] As a middle class child of the 60s, these shows fucked us all up. Why couldn't our families be like this? Why did our parents fight and get divorced? Why didn't our mothers wear pearls and heels like vacuuming like June Cleaver? Why weren't the old folks next door friendly like Mrs. Wilson? Why didn't OUR father always know best? Why didn't WE have a maid?

And why didn't I have an identical cousin?

In Southern California, most of us were mad because we didn't have a second story (or a basement).

I think that is what fueled all the two story town houses built in the 90s.

R100, Ozzie and Harriet were shown to sleep in the same bed in the 1950s. It was probably considered acceptable because they were married in real life and effectively playing themselves alongside their own sons.

Then, why couldn't Lucy and Ricky?

Different networks had different people in charge of "standards and practices," R104. Ozzie and Harriet were on ABC and Lucy and Desi were on CBS. Also, the Ricardos were presented as young and childless initially, suggesting that they were more likely to be "doing it" if they were in bed together. Ozzie and Harriet had two maturing boys, and they had all been playing a family since radio days. That implies a "safer" image of two middle-aged adults whose one bed was intended for sleeping.

"Hazel" was great. I loved Shirley Booth and all the other actors and actresses in it. It was light entertainment way better than most of the garbage on now.

Hazel was so beautiful!

If you were going to be fucked up by a TV show you weren't exactly Stable Mable to begin with.

You could put Blake in a burlap sack and she wasn't going to look plain. Couldn't act her way out of a paper bag but there was no denying how gorgeous she was.

Was I the only one whose imagination went wild when Eddie Haskell asked Wally Cleaver if he wanted to 'mess around after school'?

When I used to 'mess around' with the neighbor boys after school it involved cigarettes, Playboys, and circle jerks

Mr. B. was also a part-time restaurateur.

"DON DEFORE'S SILVER BANJO BBQ BACKSTORY (August 1957–1961): Actor Don DeFore (“Hazel”) owned The Silver Banjo Barbecue restaurant in Frontierland (next to Aunt Jemima's) in the section called “New Orleans Street.” The Silver Banjo moved into Casa de Fritos’ first location; Casa outgrew the space in 1956 and moved to a different area in Frontierland. Walt called his friend actor Don DeFore and asked him if he’d like to run a restaurant in Frontierland. After some thought, Don said “yes” and he and his younger brother Verne began a 45-hour business management class at UCLA Extension (at night). He showed his business plan to the instructor, and it was used as a class project; even the lease was examined! As son Ron said, "Dad was famous for getting free help!" June 5, 1957 was the date on the graduation certificate (the DeFore's earned a "B") and the restaurant opened shortly thereafter.

The restaurant was cafeteria-style with a cashier at the end of the line and served sandwiches, ribs, chicken, baked beans, cole slaw and french fries. There were a few tables inside with a jukebox nearby, and many more tables outside. Walt Disney used to love to eat at the Silver Banjo restaurant with Don and his family; it was one of his favorite spots in the park—with the view of Tom Sawyer Island, the Columbia, and Dixieland jazz music. The Silver Banjo was the only establishment at Disneyland to display the name of a non-fictional person and the only business ever to be owned by an individual.

Trivia: Judy Garland was Matron of Honor at Don's wedding to Marion Holmes DeFore."

to answer your question, r93... what killed summer stock? air conditioning.

theaters in the city were not air conditioned and business would slow down or even halt so actors would take to the road. theater in summer resort areas were housed in airy barns and tents or in theaters which were air cooled.

touring was a great way for even the biggest stage stars (especially whose talents were to large for the screen) to meet their fans who did not live in NYC or other major cities...

some of the greatest performing talents of the early 20th century... Alfred Lunt, Lynne Fontanne, Sophie Tucker, Laurette Taylor, Kathrine Cornell... seldom made films but broadened their fame by touring.

Don DeFore looked like he was pure muscle..wearing tight shirts and suits to cover up big pecs and biceps.

How could any child raised on "Mr. Ed", "My Mother the Car" and "My Favorite Martian" not become a stable adult?

On an Antenna TV rerun the other morning, Hazel was practically getting moist over a hunky state trooper who knocked on the Baxter's front door.

She had ta GUM it!

R94, my mother and her sisters DID dress up everyday, wore pearls, and white gloves, and drove big Cadillacs to the department stores, where they would shop for beautiful clothes or have their hair done--weekly.

We DID live in a beautiful suburb of half acre lots and handsome, well designed homes professionally decorated.

My father WAS a very successful businessman, as were my uncles.

We BELONGED to a country club where I learned to swim and golf.

Sorry your background was more Wal Mart than Nordstrom's.

Well bully for you! These shows were not realistic in the least. I'm African-American and we were nonexistent in these fairytales. I liked,Hazel, but you never saw anyone of color on this show.

[quote]I liked,Hazel, but you never saw anyone of color on this show.

Somebody bawl for Beulah?

For some reason Antenna TV kept showing the Thanksgiving episode. Hazel was stuffing a turkey and she didn't even where gloves. How gross is that?

No more cake for you Mr. B. I've already let those pants out more than the dog.

we don't know what went on in the "Hazel"/Screen Gems production offices. Keeping Blake in bland colors may have been a copy of the Lucille Ball/Vivian Vance practice (or Gracie Allen/Bea Benedaret)of minimizing the supporting actress' appearance. The show was b/w until the B's got a color tv in one episode, kind of like "Wizard of Oz." Blake's costumes tended to be rather tight for that era,I always wondered if she and her dresser were compensating for the costume restrictions.

Some of the best Hazel moments are the ones with Hazel interacting with George's sister Dierdre. One time Dierdre comes over with a new mink to show off and Hazel sasses her with: "If that coat ever has pups I want one."

I saw a few episodes on the vaginal mesh station when I've been home sick. I was hooked. I bought the whole series. I've lent it out more than a few times and everyone I know who has seen it loves it. I love the children's hospital episode when Hazel sings Bye Bye Blackbird to the kiddies.

Unemployment and Antenna TV's afternoon showings of this show last year. I loved the multiple opening credits, the actors, the characters, the episode where Hazel bowls, the whole schmear! I posted about it on tired FB and got no likes. I also like the episode where Bobby Buntrock breaks the crystal vase and Hazel takes the blame is classic. Little life lessons told well for a sitcom.

I'd still kill for that breakfast nook. That whole fucking house. It's one of the best in sitcom history. They didn't cheap out on that set.

That house looked great.

Reagan lover Don DeFore was a nasty fat fug in Hazel, and the wife waaaaay too young and beautiful.

I think the Drapers on Mad Men should have had a mettlesome maid like Hazel. The one they had, Carla, was totally unrealistic for the 1960s.

Don DeFore probably had a fat thick hairy dick with a big head with lots of smelly foreskin and a hairy asshole. Hot!

[quote]Hazel was stuffing a turkey and she didn't even where gloves. How gross is that?

Gloves? It's not I like was goin' to church or cleanin' the terlet or somethin'.

r116

They nailed that one.

As Lillian Randolph (Birdie on "The Great Gildersleeve") said:

Why should I complain? They ain't gonna rewrite the part, they'll just fire me and hire some white actress to play the same part.

The only good thing about the last (CBS) season was Ann "It's A Living" Jillian.

I would guess Meredith is lying about her mother, as she lied about her husband and the fact that she was not a lesbian too.

[quote]but unfortunately Shirley had to quit the show for health reasons.

I call bullshit for this, she lived till 1992.

As much as I loved "Sheba," Booth did a much better job in "Hot Spell." Her character Alma was a victim but the way Booth played her was brilliant. By the end you were actually understood why everyone treated Alma bad and actually disliked the character.

It was brilliant. She was great in "the Matchmaker" with fellow gay Tony Perkins.

R132, Shirley Booth did indeed cite ailing health as the reason she stopped playing Hazel. She was 68 in 1966 and TV shows require long hours. She retired from acting altogether in 1974.

[quote]She was 68 in 1966 and TV shows require long hours

Bullshit

r133

She lied, I know about that type of thing.

I recall seeing Hazel in reruns, then discovering twenty years later it was a comic strip. I then got out back issues to read it. It was pretty funny.

"[R132], Shirley Booth did indeed cite ailing health as the reason she stopped playing Hazel. She was 68 in 1966 and TV shows require long hours. She retired from acting altogether in 1974"

In addition, a season back then consisted of roughly 32 episodes and a single camera filmed show like "Hazel" took days to complete an episode.

Whitney Blake being made to wear drab colors is a myth. I've been watching the reruns on Antenna TV each morning and in every episode they have her wearing a bright red dress in at least one scene or more.

According to the message board at the Sitcoms Online website, the following info is taken from Whitney's daughter, Meredith Baxter's autobiography:

Whitney didn't like playing the third banana on Hazel.

Whitney didn't like the mundane routine of going to the same old dingy studio 5 days a week.

As the star of the show, Shirley Booth, had a lot of clout, and Whitney felt that Shirley was in cahoots with the lightning director to light Whitney badly.

Whitney also felt that Shirley had a say in her wardrobe, and made sure that she wore mostly drab gray or beige outfits after the show went to color.

Meredith hardly ever saw her mother during the Hazel years. Whitney would leave for the studio at 5am and return home late at night exhausted, and would retire to her bedroom and crash.

The best episode is when George gave Hazel a week at a fancy spa. The rich bitches shunned Hazel and she almost went home. Until the Queen of the Rich Bitches found Hazel to be the best company at the spa.

BTW Rosie was such a bitch.

Well if that was bad lighting I'd sure like to see Whitney Blake in good lighting. It sounds like bullshit because she always looked beautiful and having characters compliment her and George on her looks all the time was part of the schtick. Not to mention Hazel's constant compliments of Missy's appearance.

Agreed. One would be hard pressed to find a scene where Whitney did not look stunning on camera. Wardrobe aside, from the neck up the woman was incredibly attractive. Also, I've never heard or read anything about Shirley Booth displaying bad behavior or resentment toward a co-star. Shirley owned "Hazel" and would want what was best for the show.

[quote]Shirley owned "Hazel" and would want what was best for the show.

That must be why she dumped that fat fuck Republican and his bland blonde wife after four seasons. Don't assume a kindly on-screen persona can't hide a hard-headed businesswoman behind the scenes. People thought Lucille Ball would be nice until they met her.

Plus I'm sure Shirley had come to terms with her looks by then. Those posts from Meredith sound like Shirley though she was still the hottest 18 year old on the black. That definitely is not the way Shirley Booth carried herself. Like she could tell Whitney was a lot more beautiful than she was? Hell 99.9% of the women alive could tell Whitney was prettier than they were. Red dress or beige.

Here's a picture of Whitney playing a hot mess on Route 66. It suits her.

The best episode is when Mr Bee screwed up and caused the Tet Offensive to fail and sent the country into a depression. Then President Johnson came to read the riot act to Mr Bee but then Hazel served him some of her famous brownies with a decorated American Flag on top and President Johnson let Mr Bee off the hook

I like that Mr B is so much older than his wife and has such a young son. It makes them an interesting couple, they were probably the talk of that neighborhood.

Here ya go fellas. The opening season credits for each of Hazel's seasons. Now go have a circle jerk and leave the rest of us alone.

Little Bobby Buntrock died in an actual grease fire at the age of 21.

Why did Shirley Booth get above the title credit? Who was she to rate that kind of billing?

He died in a road accident, r149.

"Why did Shirley Booth get above the title credit? Who was she to rate that kind of billing?"

She was an Oscar, Tony and future Emmy winning actress, who also happened to own the "Hazel" show.

R151, he was sprayed with motor oil in that accident and it burst into flame. Hazel was out there all week with a putty knife trying to scrape him off the tarmac.

Shirley Booth commenting on Bobby "Harold" Buntrock's death.

Bobby Buntrock became quite handsome, looks like Chad Everett.

About "Come Back, Little Sheba"...I thought Shirley Booth was absolutely perfect as the aging, dumpy, slatternly Lola. But I could never buy the idea that she was good-looking in her youth. It was pretty obvious that even when young she would have been at best, plain. But during the play it was revealed that Doc had made love to Lola (he got "amorous" because she was so attractive) and gotten her pregnant, which is why they got married. She miscarried the baby and was never able to have another one. In the play, when Doc is drunk and raving, Lola cries "It's ME, Lola! You said I was the prettiest girl you ever saw! Remember, Doc! It's me! Lola Lola!" And as he collapses he mumbles "Lola...my pretty Lola." Whenever Shirley Booth is referred to as "pretty" I want to scream, but she was NOT and NEVER was pretty!

Burt Lancaster was terribly miscast in the movie version of CBLS. He looked much younger than Booth and was a strapping, good-looking man. It would have been much better if an older, worn-looking actor had played the role of poor alcoholic Doc, whose life was such a sad wreck.

Thankfully, they don't write plays like "Come Back Little Sheba" anymore.

Sorry R155, but that pic is not Bobby Buntrock from Hazel. That is Bobby Driscoll, from Disney's Song of the South and Treasure Island. He was also the voice of Peter Pan in the 1953 animated film.

[quote]It would have been much better if an older, worn-looking actor had played the role of poor alcoholic Doc, whose life was such a sad wreck.

Doc was played by Sidney Blackmer in the Broadway show, opposite Shirley Booth. Blackmer is best known on DL as Roman Castevet in Rosemary's Baby. Unfortunately the studio felt that with dumpy Shirley Booth, they would need a more attractive leading man to broaden the film's appeal. Lancaster knew he was too young for the part, but he also knew a good script when he saw one.

Also, Bobby Buntrock's car didn't catch fire. It went off a bridge and sank in a river, trapping him inside it.

[quote]Also, Bobby Buntrock's car didn't catch fire. It went off a bridge and sank in a river, trapping him inside it.

Well, I certainly hope it wasn't a Ford Falcon!

Bobby was an admitted homosexual. His death was considered an "unproven" suicide.

Who's the gal

She's nobody's pal

She's Hassle

(Just leave me alone)

She's a jerk

She doesn't work

She's Hassle

(I'll get around to it -Maybe_

She's a cunt

Putting up a front

She's Hassle

(You should've checked my references)

She fat and round

Her hate abounds

When Hassle comes to town

When Hassle comes to town

(Don't Hassle me maaaaaannn)

Hazel's pussy smelled like Lemon Pledge.

R163 Well, now, that's one product I've never tried!

Missy was a lazy bitch. She didn't need no fuckin' maid.

She did need a maid. Her kid was fuckin' retarded.

I mean what the fuck, he sits in a tree and throws leaves at Hazel. What the fuck?

Shirley on What's My Line, go to 18:15

And Weirdo Tuffy

bITCH IS ON IT AGAIN

Thanks for the clip R167

Loved Shirley Booth as an actress. HATED everything about Hazel, starting with Hazel. Loud, pushy, obnoxiously a "buttinsky." And that accent and that voice? Like nails on a chalkboard. She wasn't funny. What was supposed to be the premise as to what was funny? She was never wrong? Hahaha. NOT. And Don Defore, a hottie in the 40's, was fat and pasty by the time of Hazel. Whitney Blake had the acting chops of a lamp. Uninteresting. Even the color in the shows seemed washed out, pale, anemic. I never got why the public seemed to love Hazel. How or why was she loveable or even likeable?

R171, Once Upon a Time there was a generation who found Bob Hope laugh-out-loud funny.....

Say hi to Dierdre at R171

[quote]touring was a great way for even the biggest stage stars (especially whose talents were to large for the screen) to meet their fans who did not live in NYC or other major cities...

At the beginning of summer The New York Times would have a special feature in the big Sunday edition that would list every summer stock theater from Long Island to Jersey, Connecticut up to the Catskills and Poconos and it was huge big business with big stars touring.

The color looks washed out on the reruns because they're fifty years old. Shirley was only playing Hazel as the character was originally created in the Saturday Evening Post. She won two Emmys for Best Actress, beating out Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, Irene Ryan, Donna Reed, etc. Having never watched the show originally, I'm finding the reruns enjoyable.

The color looks that way, R175, because it's third generation (or more) prints made for standard size TV.

Jesus.

[quote]Loved Shirley Booth as an actress. HATED everything about Hazel, starting with Hazel. Loud, pushy, obnoxiously a "buttinsky." And that accent and that voice?

I love "Hazel" and tape it everyday. But if you pay attention Hazel really is a piece of work. She's a bully, she's never wrong, doesn't listen to her boss, meddles and is jealous. She stole couple of guys from her best friend, was jealous her best friend's boss got air conditioning, and tried to bully Mr B into buying one, and she feeds the neighborhood on Mr B's dollar and refuses to stop when she's told too. The magic is Booth is such a great actress she makes this monster lovable.

Deidre girl we loved you too; you played that bitch so well, you didn't even like your own daughter!

Hazel lived in a safe and pretty world where it is fun to visit for a half hour. Love the eccentric old neighbors, the blustery old coot Defore had to suck up to, the rich neighborhood, how Hazel knew everyone and their business--a world that never could exist really, but one that is fun to think did exist.

Shirley was extraordinary as an actress. Superlative. One of the all time greats. SHEBA one of the best movies ever made.

My best friend (may he rest in peace these last 22 years) always got a kick out of how Deirdre would ask George if she could "borrow" Hazel for one of her shindigs--as if she were chattel.

Was Hazel the white, Mad Man-era-acceptable inheritor of the Mammy tradition?

I remember seeing an episode when I was younger that gave me a "funny" feeling. This handsome soldier is visiting and laying on a bed in uniform and Hazel comes in and starts to tickle him. I knew then that seeing cute guys getting tickled turned me on. Thanks Hazel and whoever wrote that scene.

The actress who played snobby sister Deirdre, Cathy Lewis, died from cancer at age 51 in 1968.

Hmmm....r180, who played the soldier? I must look up that episode.

One of the best things about "Hazel" for me:

NO LAUGH TRACK

I'm glad Hazel was a pain in the ass to that nasty fat fuck George Baxter.

Deirdre is dead? So young. Seems like Hazel was one of those death curse shows.

R182 I think it was James Stacey

James Stacy was hot in his prime, once married to both Kim Darby and Connie Stevens. He lost a leg in a horrific motorcycle accident and then faced a molestation charge involving a female minor.

Stacy was an AIDS boy.

Whitney Blake was written out of several episodes in 1963, airing presently on Antenna TV. Wondering if it had to do with a salary dispute with NBC.

They wanted to write out Missy as it would free Mr Bee to date. And she was really a pointless character.

Missy didn't need a maid. She even said, her "interior decorator" business was a hobby.

Hazel bamboozled Mr B into buying her a color TV while the family had a B&W and then proceeded to invite the neighborhood into her room to watch Perry Como. That woman did not know her place.

Which was the whole point of the show.

You're retarded, you know that?

Cathy Lewis was the ex-wife of Elliott Lewis, who was a major star (and writer) in radio. (Cathy was a big radio actress as well.) His next wife was Mary Jane Croft, aka Betty Ramsey (among others) on "I Love Lucy" and "Mary Jane" on her other shows.

James Stacy is a convicted perv. Arrested for prowling suburban neighborhoods looking for 10 YEAR OLD GIRLS.

r193

Which is why he is loved and revered by homosexuals.

[bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic][bold][italic]

Guffaw! Boy, r162 is a doozy!

Shirley was presentable when she was young.

I'm sure Shirley at her worst was better than any of you roided up homos with purple AIDS blotches.

Purple AIDS blotches are so last century, R197. Do try to keep up, darling.

[/bold]I always liked the episode with Dianne Ladd as George's freeloading cousin.

r198

But you have them, don't you?

[bold]Never knew Diane was on the show.[/bold]

It was an episode titled "George's 32nd Cousin." It was one of the rare episodes where Hazel HATED someone.

The show utilized many well known character actors, i. e. Ellen Corby, Philip Ober, Virginia Gregg, etc.

Rerun this morning on Antenna TV from fall of 1963, with Hazel learning Italian, contained a laugh track.

[quote]Philip Ober

I had sufficient.

Phil Ober also appears in Come Back, Little Sheba as one of Doc's AA sponsors.

Alan Hale, Jr. also appeared often, pre-Gilligan's Island.

[bold]Bold: Begone![/bold]

I hope that worked. Has anyone mentioned how Whitney Blake made her kids call her "Whitney" in public and never "Mom," or, heaven forbid, "Mother."

Blake's reasoning was that you never knew who you were going to run into in public and she didn't want anyone involved in casting to see her as a mother type. People would take her to be her children's older sister if they called her by her first name.

Alan Hale, Jr. portrayed a guy down on his luck who breaks into the Baxter home for food. Hazel feels sorry for him and sets him up in the guest room without ever getting The Baxter's permission or even letting them know a burglar was sleeping in the house. Of course Smiley the dog would protect them, he was the dog they have because Hazel wanted him, but Mr B said no to. It's a wonder that whole family wasn't murdered with all her shenanigans.

A few days ago on Antenna TV, Alan Hale, Jr. played the coach of the local college football team.

Love Booth but this one is really too dull for even me. And I love comfy soothing 60s sitcoms.

In fact almost anything before All In the Family ruined TV comedy forever.

The 1963 episode with Diane Ladd as George's freeloading cousin aired this morning on Antenna TV, with Diane looking very much like daughter Laura Dern.

She definitely did look like Laura. Diane was a distant cousin who wanted rich Cousin George to pay for modeling school. Of course Hazel was having none of it because there wouldn't be money to fund her wishes, like having the house painted when she went to the trouble of having her friends do a painting estimate without Mr B's knowledge. Hazel always gets her way.

In Wikipedia it says that Whitney Blake married Tom Baxter at the age of 14. However, in an interview with Meredith Baxter, she said her mom married at 18. Which is it?

I noticed that too, r214 -- whatever happened, Whitney didn't start having kids until she was 18...

Whitney was a slut and had two abortions. It's most certainly not likely she married at 14. Pregnant at 14 yes.

Frank Gifford guest stars as himself on one of this morning's Antenna TV episodes from 1963, when KLG would have been 10-years-old.

1963? You guys are *old*.

No, from the grave.

"Rerun this morning on Antenna TV from fall of 1963, with Hazel learning Italian, contained a laugh track."

NO LAUGH TRACK. You're imagining it.

sad news...

Lynn Borden as Barbara Baxter -- Mr Baxter's SIL and joined by his brother when the original Baxters were booted off the show.

RIP

Why was there always a bird cage in the Baxter kitchen, yet no bird?

Why was the Sammy Cahn-James Van Heusen theme dropped during Season 3 and replaced?

Always wondered what was in Hazel's cookies that made Harold skip backwards. She was probably drugging the whole family to get her way the whole time.

It's fun to see future name performers show up on "Hazel" in supporting roles. Jamie Farr played an Italian chef and Harvey Korman played a fey local playwright on reruns this week.

Ozzie and Harriet slept in the same bed, R100.

[quote]NO LAUGH TRACK. You're imagining it.

You're cracked. The episode where the governor comes to the Baxter's had a laugh track.

Some episodes of Hazel on home video, I think about half a season's worth, are missing their laugh tracks. I have no idea why.

I always liked the set of Hazel. The Baxter's house wasn't posh, it was just a larger version of your average American middle class household. The Baxters were "comfortable" but not rich. They drove Fords after all.

The car manufacturer was their primary sponsor, but I bet other sponsors loved Hazel too. A show about a maid was perfect excuse to show off the latest household appliances and gadgets. It's a cheerfully illustrative endorsement of conspicuous consumption for the middle class. "Ooh, look at that mod new lamp. Doesn't wall-to-wall carpeting look nice? Did you see the powder blue washing machine?"

[quote]The Baxters were "comfortable" but not rich.

They would have been rich if Hazel didn't feed the entire neighborhood.

I think the Baxters were rich. Lower upper. A young Scotty was also on Hazel.

[quote]Ozzie and Harriet slept in the same bed.

So did Herman and Lily Munster.

Ozzie and Harriet were married in real life, just like Lucy and Desi ... so was the difference the fact that O&H were playing themselves, and Lucy and Desi were playing characters?

The Baxter's kitchen appliances are all dark brown, which I don't recall in the 1960's. The FORD automobiles almost merit co-star billing the way they're showcased. Hazel driving the very popular FORD Mustang . . . gotta love it. The laugh track on the Antenna TV reruns is there for some episodes and not for others.

I was watching an episode from this last week, I record them and watch a weeks worth on the weekend, and I noticed in the episode that they cut to a shot of just Mr B, Hazel, and some other guest actor talking, but Dorothy was still in the shot but she had turned her back to all the other actors...i'm guessing she thought she wasn't in the frame anymore. A split second later she was back in the shot and facing all the other actors.

I'm loving this show, such a huge Shirley Booth fan and i'm anxiously looking forward to the abysmal S5 where Mr and Mrs B are written out of the show.

I was reading on the imdb message board and someone brought up an interesting idea about S5 that would have worked much better. Instead of inventing George's younger brother out of thin air like they did, they should have sent Hazel and Harold to live w/ George's sister Deidre b/c it would have been much more interesting.

I've never seen a television show change their opening credits as often as "Hazel", so FORD could show off their latest models

One of the reasons I like Hazel is because there's no laugh track. Perhaps they added it for syndication, but it was not in the originals.

The Baxters weren't rich, but they were "well off." George clearly was at the top of his firm, but just below the tip top.

Missy had a privledged background, used to explain Hazel. Most people forget the back story, in which, Hazel raised Missy. She was the maid for Missy's family and raised Missy from a little girl.

So Missy sort of "inherited" Hazel. This explained, rather conveniently why Missy tolerated her and George had to accept the two as a package deal. This was a major strain when the show moved to CBS with "Brother Baxter," that back story no longer applied and it seemed stupid to have Hazel around.

It was established early on that Missy graduated college and Hazel wasn't totally convinced marry George was in her best interests, but she could've used that degree better.

Hazel dropped out of school to support all her younger brothers and sisters.

Maybe he was typecast but I think that Don DeFore was underrated. He was the perfect fat-headed, Nixon-voting, middle executive, country club type. It was funnier that he was not on the top rung of his career because in spite of some success he still had to grovel to his superiors, a thing his maid never did. When Hazel buttered up someone, it was just a preliminary to making the flattered fool jump through a hoop for her.

From watching numerous reruns lately, it appears that nearly every family in the Baxter's neighborhood had a maid.

It sure was a different time, the women wore furs even in the daytime, the men wore suits and ties even on the weekends and everyone belonged to the country club.

[quote]It sure was a different time, the women wore furs even in the daytime

Only people who didn't know better wore furs in the daytime.

NOBODY wore furs in the daytime.

It did appear that every family in the Baxter's neighborhood had a a maid from the Sunshine Girls. I thought it was odd that George's sister didn't have a maid.

On the episodes where George's sister pseudo filled in for Dorothy on the episodes she disappeared for, did we ever find out why Whitney Blake was gone for those episodes? Was this still during the time of where an actor could be suspended from episodes for insubordinant? That's the only thing I could think of for her absence and based off of other things i've read about Miss Blake on here. I could totally see her being jealous of Booth. I do agree, considering the show was in color for four seasons her clothes were about 75% bland and not colorful.

I watched the first episode of S4 this week where the Baxters house is robbed all while they sleep and they all suspect Mr. B's cousin who is in town. You are telling me that a robber came in, went upstairs to the Baxter's master bedroom and ransack it while they both slept in said room, find a wallet and clean it out and not just take the entire wallet, then go back downstairs and ransack Hazel's room and footlocker while she is asleep right there, go back and leave a cryptic note? Seriously? Why didn't Smiley the dog go ballistic barking at said intruder?

Anything is possible R244.

My live in help is colored

Black help was for those who could not get white help

Enjoy the chocolate pies, Mamie!

r244

Are you fuckin' clueless? Of course a robber couldn't do that, this is WHY they thought it had to be the cousin.

[quote]I've never seen a television show change their opening credits as often as "Hazel", so FORD could show off their latest models

I just watched the episode where George brings home a flag from a DC business trip and Hazel insists they need a thirty foot flag pole. George needs to run home and tells the secretary over the phone he needs to borrow her car because his is being washed. He pulls up in a powder blue Mustang. A traffic jam occurs because of the flag pole truck and every car in the jam was a Ford.

In the Fifties and Sixties, my grandparents had white maids - Irish immigrants happy to have a shitty little room along with the job. By the seventies, it was a black maid.

Blacks came north en mass after the war taking the jobs. The whites died or retired.

It was fun to see a young Harvey Korman, pre-Carol Burnett, on a rerun last week, playing a fey local playwright.

The Baxter's remodeled their kitchen mid-4th season, replacing the dark brown appliances with pistachio green.

The great Lee Patrick guest starred on an Antenna TV rerun yesterday, playing a snobby society matron staying with the Baxter's.

yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum

R241 Abby Ewing wore furs at least two times during the day on Knots that I can remember off the top of my head.

I was a fan of Cathy Lewis who played Deidre; sadly she died at 54 of cancer.

Whitney Blake was the lead guest star on the very first episode of "Perry Mason." Gloria Henry, who later played Dennis the Menace's mother, was also in that one.

The ticked soldier was Michael Cullen not James Stacey.

r243 That's funny, but Meredith Baxter said her mother spent an inordinate amount of time having her wardrobe custom fitted for "Hazel" and some of it was couture.

R259 Michael CALLEN, not Cullen. He was in the OBC of "West Side Story." And did TONS of TV work.

He preferred ME to Mary, that doesn't happy every day. Of course I dumped his sorry ass

Did you notice a teenaged me?

I played George's mooching cousin

Anybody have any shirtless pics of the second Mr. B......Ray Fullmer? He was hot! As was Richard Jaeckel, who had several shirtless scenes, in "Come Back, Little Sheba".

It was very odd that both Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden, the second and third leads, were billed as "... and introducing ... "

I liked Whitney Blake, but I did notice there was very little warmth between Hazel and Dorothy. Before I read Meredith's book, I always wondered if they got along in real life.

Lynn Borden was beautiful but it wasn't the same without George and Dorothy. Ray Fulmer was terrible.

He may have been terrible, but would you kick him out of bed?

James Stacey

Michael Callan

They both were on Hazel and Michael did play the soldier, I wonder if they were up for the same parts all the time.

I would worship Don DeFore, devour those big feets, deep rim that hairy hole. Republican or not.

R117, did Daddy akso, fuck the negro maid over the powder blue Matching washer and dryer.

My mommy made me the way I am today

"I was a fan of Cathy Lewis who played Deidre; sadly she died at 54 of cancer."

Oh no, that's so sad! I hope it wasn't at one of Halston's parties! Is this her? She looks familiar.

Remember the episode at Thanksgiving when Hazel was stuffing a turkey. She had her hand in that bird's ass and didn't even have gloves on.

I can remember watching reruns of Hazel on daytime tv when I was a kid and sick and didn’t go to school. I liked it but can’t remember the details much except Whitney Blske being almost ethereally gorgeous. And there was one episode that stuck in my mind for years - still remember it! It involved con artists trying to persuade Hazel and others to buy into sone dodgy deal in a Brazilian Company - by using subliminal perception in a promotional film that had the words ‘but brazillian’ appearing on the film every few frames to surreptitiously plant the notion into the minds of the viewers. I know at one stage, Hazel was at the store and saw coffee - from Brazil - and couldn’t stop herself buying cans and cans of it.my young self was fascinated at the concept and wondered if subliminal perception really worked - or worked like that at least!

Just scanned YouTube - and started watching an episode. Copied link below - for all the earlier posters who said that the Hazel house was in the same neighbourhood as the Bewitched house - well - the second scene in is quite consistent with that... ;)

^^ sorry ! Hard to type on my phone! The subliminal message was ‘buy brazillian’ - mea culpa!

It was not a-typical to have a maid/housekeeper in the 60's. My mother didn't work and my father was a construction worker/foreman. We had a cleaning woman named Paulie - she was black and took the bus from the city to our home. My father would drive her home sometimes. My mother was on several charity boards and helped out at our school in the cafeteria. Paulie would clean the bathrooms, vaccum the stairs and her last duty for the day was to prep a dinner my mother could heat up in the oven. This was usually beef tenderloin, meat loaf or pork chops. My mother would cook on weekends. Paulie would work if my parents threw a dinner party and Mother would have her wear a black dress, not a maids uniform as she did during the week. We all loved Paulie. Our dog Brandy followed her around because she would keep bacon treats in her uniform side pocket. Brandy knew.

Shirley Booth in The Glass Menagerie is one of the WORST things I've ever seen. That voice!!!!

R163.... Nope... Spic N' Span

[quote] Hazel's pussy smelled like Lemon Pledge.

[quote] R163 .... Nope... Spic N' Span

Girls, Girls...there's no need to argue over it. You're both wrong. Clearly, the obvious answer here is Mr Clean. Hazel's pussy smelled like Mr. Clean.

Lysol douche.... The kind in the brown glass bottle.

Missy was from a rich family, she married beneath her, as the original pilot (with a much older Mr B) pointed out.

Funny that R285, I always figured the exact opposite. Had wrongly assumed he must have had great wealth for her to marry such a heavy-set older man.

Never saw the pilot, that's prob why I made this wrong assumption.

In the season 2 episode of The Sopranos titled "The Happy Wanderer", Silvio Dante is frustrated with his bad luck at a poker game. A friend of Christopher Moltisanti, Matt Bevilaqua, is asked by Tony Soprano to clean the floor under the table. When Matt bumps Silvio's foot with a broom, Silvio vents his frustrations on the young man. When Tony asks him to calm down, Silvio replies: "I'm losing my balls here, and this fucking moron is playing Hazel!!??"

A couple of years ago one of the sub-networks ran the show from the beginning and I watched the entire series, all 154 episodes.

Once was enough...

But I am glad I saw them all.

R281 Booth was unhappy with her performance as Amanda.

We had a thread a few years ago. One of Don DeFore's kid posted and said that he was doing some woodworking over the weekend and almost cut off some fingers and that's why he was bandaged for a few episodes. And Meredith in her book said they were not allowed to call her Mother anything in public but Whitney because she didn't want anyone to know she was old enough to have kids their age.

I love the show and Shirley but c'mon Hazel is not a good person. Stealing an Italian hunk from her best friend, feeding the entire neighborhood on Mr B's dime because of her out of control need to be loved. Every episode she fucks people over for her own good.

Mr. B was at 20 years to old for MIssy and he wasn't in shape like other TV dads during that period. Missy should have been with Donna Reed's husband. That guy was smoking hot.

Why yes r294.......

Whitney Blake was 13 years younger than Don Defore. The original Mr B was played in the pilot by character actor Edward Andrews, who was actually younger by one year than Don DeFore but looked a lot older.

In the pilot it is established that Hazel, had worked for Missy's family and practically raised her. This is repeated throughout the whole series as why Hazel get's on Mr B's nerves yet Missy refuses to fire her. Missy is always "Yes, George, I'll have a talk with her." To Missy, Hazel is almost a mother.

It's also established that Missy graduated college and had a career before she married and Hazel isn't thrilled she gave it up to marry George a man so much older than she.

Link below to Edward Andrews, who you'll probably recognize in being in every other sitcom in the 60s for one episode.

r293

Hazel never fucks people over for her benefit. She is extremely pushy and needs to be put in her place, which happens finally and in the end, it's Hazel's schemes that save George. And there has been a few times, when Hazel is wrong, like when Diane Ladd plays George's mooching cousin and George warns Hazel but she fails to see the obvious.

Paulie liked to watch the daytime soaps while she watched. If she was in the kitchen she used the portable set to watch her favorite show, As The World Turns. She thought Lisa was a hoot. Paulie had a family of her own. Her son was in the army and she worried about him being deployed to Viet Nam. Her husband was dead and she always talked about not getting his social security because they were holding it.

Ever since I watched the show, I always wanted a white surly maid.

What in the hell ARE you talking about, R298?

r298 is a follow-up to r280

Ah! Thank you, R301. Now it makes sense.

[quote]I'd still kill for that breakfast nook.

#metoo

[quote]Hazel never fucks people over for her benefit.

Yes, she does, pay attention, she does it over and over. She cons Mr B into buying her a color TV for her room and then proceeds to invite the neighborhood over to watch Perry Como in color while Mr B has to finally buy one because his own family was always in Hazel's room.

Mr B brings home a flag for the kid and she insists they need a 30 foot flag pole for the yard and it destroys the plumbing.

None of her schemes ever cost her a dime but she's always the hero.

She fucks over Rosie her best friend twice stealing the Italian teacher she liked and the neighbors new chauffeur. Show after show, but it's a testament to Booth's talent for making her likeable.

Bobby "Sport" Buntrock had a tragic life after Hazel was over. He could not get another acting job since he never learned to act. So he went back to public school, where he was teased unmercifully and called Bobby "Buttcrack." He later died in a freak accident by tripping over a rake while skipping.

None of that is true, r305. Bobby did get other jobs and died in a car accident.

Rosie was played by veteran character actress Maudie Prickett, who actually appeared in more episodes than the final season's lead actors. (Ray Fullmer and Lynn Borden.)

Threads like this is why I adore DL. Despite the fact that I hadn't seen that show since the 60s, and have no desire to watch the reruns now, it's delightful to read all of the details about the show and showbiz and the 60s.

My favorite thing about 60s TV reruns is the character actors, and I love to see the constant repetition of people like Edward Andrews eventually showing up in everything. Whit Bissell was another one who was ubiquitous, as were Vito Scotti and Mako.

[quote]She cons Mr B into buying her a color TV for her room and then proceeds to invite the neighborhood over to watch Perry Como in color while Mr B has to finally buy one because his own family was always in Hazel's room.

Yeah, that couldn't possibly have been a peacock "in living color" promo.

Or one for the Perry Como show.

I just discovered that the first season of Hazel aired 35 episodes (in season 5, 29).

All of these shows aired well before I was born, but I am obsessed with them. Maybe it's that late 50s/60's sitcom world of an America that everyone wanted but never truly existed.

[quote]As far as sitcoms go it was brilliant.

Oh, [italic]hon[/italic]....

[quote]Mr B has to finally buy one because his own family was always in Hazel's room.

How is this Hazel's fault? Mr B simply could watch the B&W set.

What if Mr. B and Hazel were secretly fucking. And what exactly did Missy do all day?

[quote]but it's a testament to Booth's talent for making her likeable.

I agree with this. Watch her movie "Hotspell" in it she plays a housewife who everyone takes advantage of. But by the end of the movie, even though bad things happen to her, you wind up NOT sympathizing with her and making a sympathetic character unlikeable. This is because of Miss Booth's brilliant acting.

[quote]And what exactly did Missy do all day

Missy had a job, she was an interior decorator.

Shirl liked 'em manly.....

Look who's dancing....

Refinement

About Mrs. Leslie.....

Booth owned the show, but NBC paid for it and the sponsors who would have sprung for all or part of an entire season did, too. Even Lucy had to deal with network pressure to make The Lucy Show less dikey after the initial season basically focused on Lucy, Viv and their women friends. The plots are kind of stupid and Booth herself felt that her role was to bring warmth, heart and likability to her pushy, scheming character. Within the conventions of early 60s sitcoms she did--the network and sponsors probably wouldn't have wanted anything else. The real gift of the MTM and Norman Lear sitcoms was that they freed people from convention and the endless recycling of the same old tired situations which was the norm for most sitcoms (mistaken identity, taking back an expensive purchase, getting out of a jam, etc.). All in the Family seems a bit tiresome and didactic now but it freed people from the conventions of earlier sitcoms. Shows like Mary Tyler Moore made possible even better shows like Barney Miller and more inventive shows like Taxi.

The alternate opening for Ford was not unusual. The early seasons of Bewitched did this for Chevrolet. Donna Reed did this for longtime sponsor Campbell Soup.

Hazel is a bitch.

I watched the entire series, and once was enough. Although i do love Shirley Booth and enjoyed those clips posted above...

Hazel was such a dick.

Whitney Blake is a good name for a gay 20yo Youtubber. Blake Whitney is a gay porn actor name.

Mr. B said I can't feed the neighborhood on his dime anymore and I say....fuck him...fuck him right up the ass. And Missy says he's bad in bed.

It's hard watching the show now knowing that Whitney Blake's brother, Robert Blake, is a murderer.

Why do you say shit like that, R328?

It’s tough to find many episodes on line.

I am doing a Hazel quarantine rewatch. It was a good show and funny. It didn't really ask to much of you as a viewer. However, I don't buy that Whitney Blake would be married to Don DeFore. I loved when Mr. B's snooty sister showed up.

Hazel parody...Funny 'cause it's true